The household appliance manufacturer Beko commissioned an international study (United Kingdom, South Africa, Thailand) of 6,000 people concerning their behavior in terms of energy savings. Some striking figures stand out, such as this statistic which indicates that “nearly 9 out of 10 people admit to ignoring best practices in terms of energy efficiency at home”.
However, nearly 8 out of 10 respondents admit to being “interested in purchasing products that can improve the energy efficiency of their homes”. Hardly surprising in an inflationary environment. Moreover, for 87% of respondents, “the energy efficiency of an appliance” is an important parameter.
Despite this awareness, 89% of those surveyed admit that they regularly behave inefficiently and generate energy waste. 29%, for example, keep the refrigerator open for too long, 20% leave their freezer plugged in even if it is empty, 37% leave objects on charge for longer than necessary. More generally, 3 out of 5 people are not sure of the settings they choose for their devices, fearing to assume excessive energy expenditure in relation to their uses.
Another interesting piece of information is that people over 64 minimize the interest in energy efficiency the most, especially when buying new equipment.
This study shows that despite everything, 7 out of 10 people do not want to replace their current devices. What could pass for bad news is actually a gesture of common sense for the environment: from an ecological (and energy bill) point of view, equipping yourself with more efficient appliances is always a good idea, but Replacing functional equipment early is an environmental aberration. Indeed, the major part of a product’s CO2 equivalent emissions always takes place during manufacturing.